Locomotive fire-box



W. W. NEALE.

LOCOMOTIVE FIRE BOX.

APPLICATION FlLiD 050.11, 1911..

1,317,810. Patented Oct. 7,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

a 7 ATE WITNESS. 9/6. 1% M MWM. I ,9, 2 a

li'l'OlP/VEYS.

W'. W. NEALE.

LOCOMOTIVE FIRE BOX.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 17. 1917.

1 ,3 l ,8 l O. Patented Oct. 7, 1919.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W/r/yEss:

T @FTQE.

WILLIAM W. NEALE, 0F RELAY, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN ARCH COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

LOCOMOTIVE FIREBOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 7, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM. V. NEALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Relay, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and,

useful Improvements in Locomotive Fire- Boxes of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to arches or baflies such as used in locomotive fire boxes, and it has for one of its primary objects the provision of an improved perforate arch adapted to increase the eiliciency of the fire box by securing thorough mixture and complete combustion of the gases and by equalizing the draft conditions over the fire bed.

My invention also contemplates the provision of improved means whereby standard forms of arch brick can be readily used to form a perforate arch.

I accomplish theforegoing. together with such othcr'objects as may hereinafter appear, by means of a construction which I have illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is adongitudiual section through a locomotive fire box embodying my improved form of arch: Fig. 2 is a plan view of the arch shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4c are respectively a side and end elevation of a detail of my improvement; Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the arch showing the.

manner in which the bricks are supported on the circulation tubes and on the side sheets; Fig. (3 a plan view of a portion of an arch embodyin a modification of my invention: and l igs. l and 8 are respectively a sidcaml end elevation of a detail utilizing the form of arch shown in Fig. 6.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be seen that l have therein shown a portion of a standard form of locomotive fire box comprising an inside and an outside fire box. The inside fire box is composed of the inside throat sheet 7, tube sheet 8, crown sheet 9, side sheets 10, and back sheet 11; while the outside fire box comprises the throat sheet 12, back sheet 13, and outside or wrapper sheet 9, The water legs formed by the inside and outside fire boxes are closed by the usual mud ring 14. and the water legs are connected by a plurality of rearwardly and upwardly extending circulation tubes 15.

The arch or battleis composed of a plurality of arch bricks 16, such bricks being arranged in central rows or spans, and wing bricks. The central spans a, b, c, and d, extend from a point adjacent the inside throat. sheet 7 to a point just short of the rear water leg; and the wings e, f, extend from a point adjacent the throat sheet 7 substantially half the length of the fire box. The bricks may be of any preferred type but are preferably flat and provided with socket or tube engaging surfaces at the ends. The central rows or spans are supported on the circulation tubes, and the wing bricks are supported between the outer circulation tubes and side sheets 10, as is well understood in this art.

I prefer to have that portion of the arch adjacent the inside throat-sheet 7 imperforate in order to protect the ends of the fines and to prevent excessive draft at the forward end of the fire bed, and to this end a number of transverse rows or bricks, preferably four in number, are assembled edge to edge as shown in Fig. '2. The other transverse rows of bricks, however, are spaced apart by means of spacer blocks 17 which blocks have socket portions 18 adapted to fit over the circulation tubes. In assembling the arch a transverse row or a course of the bricks 16 is laid in position on the circulation tubes and then the spacer blocks placed in position on the circulation tubes, and another course of bricks 16 laid, and so forth until the arch is complete, the friction resulting from the pressure of the bricks 16 serving to prevent the spacer blocks from turning on the tubes.

The arch as thus assembled is provided with a plurality of transverse circulation passages 19 and provides longitudinal spaces 20 at each side in the rear of the wing bricks and a third transverse space 21 between the back sheet and the end of the arch. By this arrangement the gases on being drawn through the various circulation passages and openings, are thoroughly commingled and mixed and more perfect combustion obtained while, at the same time, the draft is substantially uniformly distributed over the fire bed. The arrangement, therefore, has all of the advantages of other forms of perforate arches, but is more simple and economical and easy to assemble.

It will also be noted that an arch of the character .described can be readily constructed from standard brick utilized to form imperforate arches by introducing the spacer blocks 17.

In Figs. 6, 7, and 8, I have shown a modification of the invention, such modification consisting in providing the spacer blocks 17 with a lug or projection 22, and in providing recesses or notches 23 in the upper corners of the bricks, to receive such projections. The lugs projecting into the space formed by the notched or recessed portions 23 of the bricks 16- revent the spacer blocks from turning on t e tubes and falling out of position.

Where the arch bricks are of the reversible type, i. 6., provided with tube engaging or socket portions on both the lower and upper" faces, so that the brick can be supported on the tubes either side up, it may not be necessary, depending upon the depth of the socket portions, to recess or notch the corners of the bricks to receive the lugs or projections 22 of the spacer blocks, and such lugs can be formed so as to abut tube engaging surfaces at the ends of adjacent bricks.

' I claim:

1. In a locomotive fire box havin water Walls and circulation tubes connecting said walls, an arch comprising a plurality of rowsof arch bricks carried on said tubes and arranged in courses, and spacer blocks carried on said tubes between courses and adapted to space the courses apart so as to leave gas passages therebetween.

2. In a locomotive fire box having water walls and circulation tubes connecting said walls, an arch comprising a plurality of rows of arch bricks carried on said tubes and arranged in courses, and spacer blocks.a

rows of brick members supported on said circulation tubes and arranged in courses and spacer members supported on said tubes between courses, said brick and spacer members having inter-engaging means positioning said spacer members on the tubes.

5. In a locomotive fire box having water Walls and circulation tubes connectin said walls, an arch comprising a plurality of rows of arch bricks, supported on said tubes and arranged in courses, said bricks being provided at an edge with recessed portions, and spacer blocks supported on the tubes between courses and provided with projections adapted to fit into said recesses.

6. In a locomotive fire box having water Walls and circulation tubes connecting said water walls, a refractory arch COmpIising a plurality of rows of arch bricks arranged in transverse courses and supported on said tubes, and means to-space apart the courses of brick to provide transverse circulating passages through the arch substantially coextensive therewith.

7. A spacer block adapted to be used in the formation of a perforate arch for fire boxes, having a socket portion adapted to fit a circulation tube and a lateral projection above said socket portion adapted to engage an upper portion of the buck to position the spacer block.

8. In a locomotive fire box having water walls and circulation tubes connecting said walls, an arch comprising a plurality of rows of arch bricks carried on said tubes and arranged in courses, said bricks having their corners at the ends on both faces cut away so that the bricks may be supported either side up on the tubes, and spacer blocks supported on said tubes between courses and provided with projections adapted to be received in the s ace provided by the cut away corners of adjacent bricks.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

WILLIAM W. NEALE. 

